After the sample collection, they set a timer and tell you that you can leave but you need to be back at your phone in fifteen minutes to complete the test. I picked up my iPad and returned to the game I had been playing. About thirteen minutes into the test, Craig asked, “How’s it going over there?”
I looked at my phone, still a couple minutes left. Then I looked at my test sitting on the table in front of my phone. Wait, that’s not right! I’ve taken plenty of covid tests at home, but I’ve never seen more than one line.
“Uh, I think this says I have covid.” I told him.
The proctor came back online and confirmed that my test was positive. He said the app would provide resources, but the app and website really had nothing to offer to people outside the US.
Things got a bit hectic after that. We informed our state room attendant, who told us to stay in the room and medical would call us. When medical called, they asked if I had any drug allergies (for anyone who doesn’t know, I’m allergic to seven antibiotics, so this question is always an adventure when we travel internationally). They asked if I had symptoms - I did not. They told me a nurse would be up to test me to confirm that I had covid.
I texted mom to let her know, but I got no answer. I sent a few texts to people back at home, knowing none of them would be awake. I sent my dad a text asking if he was awake. When he responded, I told him that mom wasn’t answering her texts. Then I got a response from my mother: “Oh my.”
That about sums it up, really. The day dragged on with a trickle of information and very little activity. I spent the time researching everything we could think of: Could my parents fly home without us if they tested negative? Where could we quarantine/isolate in Amsterdam? What would we need in order to fly home after quarantine/isolation? Are false positives really a thing?
A nurse from the ship had come to our room in full hazmat gear (disposable gown, face mask, face shield, gloves, etc.) and taken a PCR test on me and an antigen test on Craig. We were told that if my PCR came back positive, they would test Craig’s antigen test. If mine came back negative, they would give me that report (so I could fly home) and toss Craig’s test (he would then need to do the proctored test for our flight). The nurse said that the test took 15 minutes to run, but they had a “bit of a backup” so it might be an hour and a half. Craig estimated that there were more than twenty tests in the nurse’s bag, each labeled with various room numbers. We waited.
My parents decided to test using their home kits first, rather than the proctored tests that would be needed to fly (those “official” tests were, of course, handily located in our room, but they had the home tests in their own luggage). Both tested negative. They had, thankfully, gotten their booster shots about a month before the cruise.
Nearly three hours after seeing the nurse, we got a call from medical. My PCR test was positive. Craig’s antigen test was positive. They would send a nurse up to run a PCR test on Craig to “confirm his positive test.” They asked about my allergies a second time (this nurse/doctor did notice that I’m allergic to basically all antibiotics and said something about how it must be really challenging when I need antibiotics) and asked for a list of medications I take. They also asked if I was diabetic or had any other risk factors for severe covid complications. They asked if I had gotten off the ship at any of the ports - I said yes and they did not inquire into any specifics.
I mentioned that we were traveling with my parents. She seemed confused and asked what my question was. I asked if they needed to be tested. She said the ship did not consider them close contacts because we were not sharing a stateroom. (I find this a bit strange, considering that we were seated for all of our meals at the same table in the dining room, went on all our excursions together, and met for tea and bridge every afternoon in The Retreat…but what do I know?)
I was informed that we would get a call from guest services about our options, but it might be a little bit because “things were very busy.” The nurse said that we would have the option of staying on the ship to quarantine, though we would be moved to another room, and they would test us again on Day 5 and Day 6. If we tested negative, we would be allowed out of isolation, but they could not give us a certificate of recovery until ten days after the positive test. The other option would be the cruise would arrange a quarantine hotel on land; she was very vague about what that would mean or what would happen there. I assumed that was because she has not had to deal with anyone who chooses that option.
So we waited.
Then everyone in Kansas woke up with questions. (Unrelated, would you like to know when your friends and family wake up in the morning? Travel internationally and text them that you’ve tested positive on a cruise in the middle of the night…) But we still had very few answers. Craig had been texting with Delta about flight options for hours at this point. (Have we mentioned that our internet was not great?)
When we finally got an answer that my parents could fly with a negative test, mom came by to pick up two of the test kits. Thus began an adventure as they tried to navigate an online process that is not intuitive, with terrible internet. Their first attempt was invalidated when they lost the connection midway through. My dad’s solution? I should certainly come to their room and do it for them. Me - the one with the covid. Craig was able to convince him that he did not want to get a false positive on his test because I had covid. Instead, they went up to The Retreat and were able to get help from a combination of staff and other guests. They were even able to acquire two extra tests from another guest. (That guest told them that he and his wife had tested positive for covid early in the cruise, quarantined in their room for the required period, and now had certificates of recovery to fly home with, so they did not need their tests. Oh, and had a full refund on their cruse!)
With this part of the plan settled, we started the process of packing. Mom brought things to us that they would not be taking home - the bottle of champagne provided in their room on embarkation, the spare covid test, etc. We gave them the keys to the vehicle we had parked at the airport, the parking ticket, instructions on how to leave the Parking Spot (we had used Craig’s account, so they needed his QR code and such). I packed our bags, still not entirely sure if we were doing the following day.
Eventually, guest services called and gave Craig basically the same options that the nurse had earlier described. We had the option of staying aboard, but we would be moved to another room. We had been in a suite on our cruise, but those were fully booked, so we would be moved to Deck 6. She wasn’t sure what room we would get, but it would be an exterior room with a veranda. If we stayed aboard, we would have room service, medical care if it became necessary, and internet. We would get our certificate of recovery in ten days and we could disembark in Copenhagen. They would provide assistance rebooking our flights, if necessary.
We also had the option of getting off the ship in Amsterdam. But we would be on our own finding lodging, food, and medical care. She could not tell us anything about what we would need to do there except “follow local regulations”. I had been researching “local regulations” for hours at this point - it was basically, isolate (no suggestion of where you should do this) until you test negative (again, no idea where you could test, how often, what it would cost) and then you can fly home, with the throw-away suggestion that if you needed further assistance you could contact your embassy.
At this point, the biggest question in my mind was: When did I get covid? And when will I test negative for covid?
I had no symptoms specific to covid. Shortly after landing in Amsterdam, I had noticed a runny nose - but no congestion, cough, fever, or anything else. I assumed it was allergies or a step-up in the chronic rhinitis I live with. A few days later, Craig “caught” my runny nose, but again, no other symptoms. The following day, my mom also had my runny nose. But mom had now tested negative for covid at least twice - on the home test and the proctored test. If that symptom was when I caught covid, it seems like my mom would have been the most likely to test positive as the last to catch it. But that isn’t what happened.
Without any indication of when I got covid, I really have no idea when I might test negative again. (If you’ve recently tested positive for covid, I do not recommend googling to find out when you will test negative - I can assure you that all you will find is horror stories from people who went for months without symptoms, continued to tested positive, and were unable to continue their lives, be it travel, work, or the like.)
We opted to stay on the ship.
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